The regular readers of this blog might have seen a quite recent post extending the whole maternal immune activation link to autism (and other conditions). I don't think anyone can argue with the fact that this is a very, very interesting line of inquiry for at least some autism (or should that be some of the autisms?). Indeed, it's timely that another paper comes out with this field of study in mind: Rossi and colleagues****.

I'm not going to dwell too much on the Rossi findings aside from highlighting (a) they pretty much got the same results as previously reported but this time based on a cohort based in the Basque Country (yep, the same place that hosted IMFAR this year (2013), and (b) to quote: "plasma reactivity to fetal brain a combination of proteins at 37 and 73 kDa or 39 and 73 kDa was found exclusively in mothers of children with ASD". That and mention of one Joaquin Fuentes as part of the authorship group who I fondly remember as being the 'fingers of fire' as per his guitar skills at a conference in Ireland I attended many moons ago.

I'm not going to be drawn to deeply into the arguments about any 'alarm' over the proposed translation of the maternal autoantibody findings. I get the impression that for some, quite a bit of the 'alarm' is mention of the immune system being related to a behavioural condition like [some of] the autisms (who'd have thunk it...). I would however perhaps replace alarm with 'caution' in how this issue develops and the ethical questions that it raises as per pregnancy screening and previous examples of this line of investigation (see here). Indeed, in place of screening, the associated question is whether this line of work might have more therapeutic implications for at least some on the autism spectrum?

Update: 16-09-13. A full-text PDF of the original paper is available here.

ABOUT AUTISM SPECTRUM CONDITIONS

Autism or autism spectrum conditions describe several presentations characterised by core issues with social affect and stereotyped or repetitive actions. Diagnosis is made by observation and analysis of developmental history. These are heterogeneous conditions which can carry various co-morbidities and whilst described as life-long are affected by age and maturation. Autism means different things to different people. To some it means a need for life-long support. To others it is part of the varied tapestry of humanity. To all it means a need to foster a welcoming society with appropriate support and opportunities.